Pages

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Trad Tuesday: Only Our Rivers Run Free by Mickey MacConnell

This version is sung by Christy Moore though Only Our Rivers Run Free has been recorded by many Irish artists. Mickey MacConnell wrote this song in 1973 about the troubles in Northern Ireland though the song has a much older feel to it.

When apples still grow in November When Blossoms still bloom from each tree When leaves are still green in December It's then that our land will be free I wander her hills and her valleys And still through my sorrow I see A land that has never known freedom And only her rivers run free

I drink to the death of her manhood Those men who'd rather have died Than to live in the cold chains of bondage To bring back their rights were denied Oh where are you now when we need you What burns where the flame used to be Are ye gone like the snows of last winter And will only our rivers run free?

How sweet is life but we're crying How mellow the wine but it's dry How fragrant the rose but it's dying How gentle the breeze but it sighs What good is in youth when it's aging What joy is in eyes that can't see When there's sorrow in sunshine and flowers And still only our rivers run free